Miss Philippines answers — sort of — and loses Miss Universe

Back in the day a beauty pageant contestant had only to answer: “I just want everyone to love everybody and for the world to live in peace.”

Didn’t make any difference if the question was about global warming or the price of milk. If the contestant said this, it was a winner. Especially if she sugar-coated it with a magnolia accent.

But no more. The world is abuzz over Miss Philippines’ answer in the 2010 Miss Universe contest. She was a favorite in some quarters, but didn’t win.

She dropped the ball when William Baldwin – faded celebrity turned judge – asked Maria Venus Raj about a major mistake she made in her life and how she fixed it. Through the smiles and the expressions of gratitude for the question, Las Vegas, the contest, her family and so on and yadda yadda yadda, she said she really hadn’t made any mistakes.

The George W. Bush thing works in Washington, D.C., but not in Las Vegas.

(William Baldwin would have talked about his mistakes, but TV viewers didn’t have all night.)

It hasn’t been easy for Ms. Raj, who reportedly grew up in a wood hut without electricity but managed to graduate from college with honors. Questions about her birth certificate even caused her to briefly lose her Miss Philippines crown.